Photo: Rex Features/Associated Press
Update: Police confirmed in a press conference Tuesday morning that 22 people have died. The death toll has risen from the original report of 19. Chief constable Ian Hopkins also said law enforcement believes the attack was carried out by one man, a suicide bomber, who they confirmed died at the scene. The full police statement can be found here.
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Greater Manchester Police have confirmed there are at least 22 dead and more than 50 injured following reports of an explosion of some kind Monday night at the Manchester Arena, where Ariana Grande was performing.
Shortly after claims circulated from fans attending the show, police verified they were in fact responding to reports of "explosions." They have since confirmed multiple fatalities, but they have not provided further details surrounding the source of the explosions.
Immediately following the incident, law enforcement warned people to avoid Manchester Arena for the foreseeable future. Early Tuesday morning (U.K. time), Greater Manchester Police confirmed at least 19 had died.
As of this writing, it is not yet clear what caused the explosions or where they originated, but multiple concert attendees described the scene as chaotic and frightening. One concertgoer recalled the sound of explosions at the back of the arena after Grande's last song. “We saw young girls with blood on them, everyone was screaming and people were running,” she said.
Sky News reported early Tuesday morning that a bomb disposal team was onsite at the arena, noting the security cordon around the venue had also been widened, despite no official confirmation of whether a bomb had indeed been involved.
According to the Associated Press, U.K. police said the apparent blast is "being treated as a terrorist incident" until they can confirm otherwise.
In a statement to Variance, Grande's rep has confirmed the singer is "O.K.," adding: "We are further investigating what happened."
Live Nation, the concert promoter, has since issued a statement: "We are deeply saddened by this senseless tragedy and our hearts and thoughts are with those impacted by this devastating incident."
Further updates can be found here.
#Manchester pic.twitter.com/LzMioNLp0J
WATCH: Concertgoers jump over barricade inside Manchester Arena. More: https://t.co/AKl1mmK4Sv pic.twitter.com/B0DSfm3eZH
Latest statement on incident at Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/BEpLOan3dY
Police statement on incident at Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/gaKASukx9a
Two loud bangs heard around Manchester arena. People running out of the arena. No idea what's going on pic.twitter.com/KaRzQckvEE
EXPLOSION AT MANCHESTER ARENA AND EVERYONE RAN OUT SO SCARY😭 pic.twitter.com/pJbUBoELtE